Jets owner Woody Johnson believes in coach Aaron Glenn but calls out the quarterback play
Woody Johnson is back to believing the Jets are a quarterback away.
At the NFL’s fall meetings in Manhattan on Tuesday, the owner of the Jets said he still has faith in the team, and in rookie head coach Aaron Glenn, but placed most of the blame for the 0-7 record on quarterback Justin Fields.
“It looks like [Glenn] is turning around parts of it,” Johnson said. “It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we've got. He has the ability but something is not jiving. But if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that you will see similar results across the league. You have to be consistent at that position and that’s what we are going to try to do for the remainder of the season.”
The Jets have yet to name a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Bengals. Glenn benched Fields in place of backup Tyrod Taylor in last Sunday's 13-6 loss to the Panthers.
Fields’ passer rating is 91.1 this season, above his career average of 84.6. The Jets signed Fields to a two-year contract as a free agent in March and immediately named him their starter. He’s held that title until recently.
“Defense and special teams are doing better,” Johnson said. “Defense is pretty good. If we could just complete a pass it would look good. You have to complete a pass, you have to convince them you can do something, otherwise it’s hard to have a game you can win.”
The Jets did have a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers but they cut him shortly after Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey were hired. Rodgers now plays for the first-place Steelers and has a 4-2 record as their starter.
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) October 21, 2025
“I never look back,” Johnson said when asked if he regretted releasing Rodgers. “You have to look forward in football. When you cut players they could be Hall of Famers, you just never know. But Aaron is playing great now. He is in a situation that is working for him.”
As for the Jets situation, which is clearly not working for anyone, Johnson said he is leaving the decision on who will quarterback the team up to Glenn.
“This is what they are paid to do, what they are experts at doing, so they’ll make the right decision with what we’ve got,” he said.
On Monday, Glenn said he was not ready to name a starter for the game against the Bengals (3-4).
“I’m not running away from the question at all," Glenn said. "The thing is, I want to make sure that I make the right decision. And I don’t want to make rash decisions, either. I just want to make sure when the decision is made, it’ll be the right one.”
Johnson said “true Jets fans” don’t lose hope, and he hasn’t either. Not in this year’s team and not in Glenn.
“I do believe in Aaron,” he said. “I have known Aaron since 1996. I was a fan. I’ve always been a fan of his. If I were a player I would respond to him because he’s the real deal. No BS. No second agendas. What you get is the truth and a lot of times players don’t get the truth. You get a lot of gobbledygook.”
Johnson said his message to Glenn remains as positive as it was the day he hired him.
“I hug him every day,” Johnson said. “I say, keep the faith, man.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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